Category Archives: Grandma’s Stories

Grandma's Stories

Honouring God.

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Bobby came running up the steps onto the front deck and in the ranch-slider throwing his bag down in the corner on his way to the kitchen.

“Wow”, he exclaimed, ”it’s been a busy day! I never had time to stop and think. Our team has been chosen to represent the school in the inter school sports next month”.

“That’s great Bobby,” Mum said,” I suppose that will mean Saturday training each weekend”.

“Yes,” Bobby said sitting on the stool and taking the drink Mum had passed him. “It’s going to be a busy term”.

So it proved to be. Bobby found the training sessions very strenuous, but he enjoyed every bit of it.

As the family got ready to go to church the next morning, Bobby thought wistfully of his bed as he got dressed. Wouldn’t it be good to have a break from church just this once? he thought as he dragged his jersey on. But he knew it was no use to even suggest it. Going to church wasn’t an option in their household, there was never any question of what they would be doing on Sunday mornings!

Bobby mostly enjoyed going to church. The singing was rather cool, and their class leader was really neat. But he found his mind starting to wander this particular Sunday, and he visualised some of the passes he was to make in his next game. Slowly he pulled his mind back to the story the leader was telling. He was saying, “and so the prophet said to Eli the priest, ‘Those who honour God, God will honour’, and that is just the same for us today.”

Bobby stirred himself, and listened to the rest of the lesson.

That evening, Bobby picked up his school books and went out into the dining-room to do some home work that he needed to finish.

“I guess I should ask you to pray for me Dad,” Bobby said, “This work is really hard!”

“You know Bobby,” Dad said thoughtfully, “I don’t think I could pray this for you. You could have done that homework last evening instead of watching TV”.

“Aw, Dad, I was tired last night after all that football practice”, Bobby said.

“You know Bobby, if you put God’s day ahead of things you want to do, God will honour you for it”, Dad said.

“Funny you should say that Dad,” Bobby said, “Our leader said something the same this morning in class”.

“Yes, well this is one of the principles that always stands,” Dad replied, “If you make time to do your home-work ahead of things like TV, and keep God’s day special for Him, He will help you to get through your lessons and tests far better than if you spent time on Sunday for your homework! “

You can read about this in the Bible in 1 Samuel 2: 29-30…..

Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?  30     Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Grandma's Stories

Doing Things MY Way!

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Christine came in at the end of breakfast looking rather sulky. “Nobody is going to tell me what to do!” she declared, “I’ll do what I like!”

The   family sat there taken aback at this outburst. After all, Father had only said it would be a good idea for everyone to eat their breakfast together before going off to work.   Christine may have been only boarding there, but she knew what was expected of   her.

This is just like Cain that we read about in the Bible. Cain was the  eldest son of Adam and Eve. He had been brought up knowing the story of the Garden of Eden and how his parents had   disobeyed God. He knew that disobedience had planted the seeds of death in every person born since then, including himself.

Lamb 2Cain knew very well what sort of sacrifice God  wanted. He had been told many times that sin brings death, and that a lamb had to be killed as a sacrifice. But Cain was rebellious. He didn’t like animals; his forte was gardening. So he brought his best vegetables and fruit . Surely this would please God! Yes, he wanted  to offer God a sacrifice, but he was going to do it his way. No-one was going to   tell  him any different!

But Abel who loved his flock, was prepared to offer one of his best lambs as his sacrifice. It was a beautiful little lamb and Abel wanted to give God his very best. The Bible tells us that God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice, but he was not pleased   with Cain’s.

Somehow   the boys knew God’s feelings in this matter, and Cain was very sulky. Why was  God not pleased with his sacrifice?  His vegetables  were just as good as Abel’s lamb, they were beautiful!

But Cain had clean missed the point. Later in the Bible, we are told that to obey God is better  than all the sacrifices offered our way!

You can read about these things in the Bible in Genesis 4:1-7; 1 Samuel  15:22-23

Grandma's Stories

Are You Ready?

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And the Lord saw that the sin of man was great on the earth, and that all the thoughts of his heart were  evil. And the Lord had sorrow because he had made man on the earth, and grief was in his heart.

And the Lord said, I will take away man, whom I have made, from the face of the earth, even man and beast and that which goes on the earth and every bird of the air; for I have sorrow for having made them. Genesis 6:5-7

Noah was hammering away at the last few boards to go on the large boat he was building. Some of his neighbours walked by and said sarcastically, “Well Noah, still waiting for this stuff you call rain?”

Noah straightened up and said,  “It’s going to come, and I don’t know what it will be like, all I know God has told me to get this boat ready and there will be enough room in it for anyone else who wants to get on board”.

“Aw poof!” said the man again, “I’m not going to make a fool of myself like that!”

The time came when Noah and his sons hammered the last nail in place.

The Bible  tells us that two of all the different sorts of animals came along to Noah and went quietly into the boat. Birds too, came flying along and went into the departments that Noah had built especially for them. Noah and his sons had gathered a lot of straw  and other dried food and stored them in the special bins that God had told him to build. At last all was ready.

People were gathering around at the sight of these animals all so docile and tame, even the lions and tigers were just like big cats and were so quiet as they filed inside the boat.

“Ho, ho”, the people laughed, “That won’t last! Noah will have some fun in there after a few days!”

The last animals and birds had gone on board. Noah felt God telling him it was time for him and his family to go in behind them. He turned around as he went up the ramp and spoke to the people watching. “Are you sure you don’t want to come in too?” he asked, “God says there is going to be a dreadful flood and you won’t have any chance”.

But they wouldn’t listen.

Soon the people heard a clang as the door swung shut on its hinges. The sky had been getting darker and darker as storm clouds rolled across it. The people began to wonder what was going to happen.

Then the rain started. They had never seen rain before. At first they thought it was fun, but then the water started to rise as well. It came higher and higher. People started to hammer on the sides of Noah’s boat. “Let us in!” they cried, “Keep us safe!” But there was no reply. God had shut the door and Noah couldn’t open it. They weren’t ready and it was  too late.

And on the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was dry. God said to Noah, Go out of the ark, you and your family and take out with you every living thing which is with you, birds and cattle and everything which goes on the earth, so that they may have offspring and be fertile and be increased on the earth.

And God said, This is the sign of the agreement which I make between me and you and every living thing with you, for all future generations … I will put my bow in the cloud and it will be for a sign of the agreement between me and the earth.

And whenever I make a cloud come over the earth, the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will keep in mind the agreement between me and you and every living thing; and never again will there be a great flow of waters causing destruction to all flesh.

                                        You can read this full story in the Bible in  Genesis 8:15-17;  9:12-15

Grandma's Stories

Are You Feeling Down?

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“I need encouragement, you need encouragement, we ALL need encouragement!”

The words of the speaker wafted on. I little dreamed how  these  introductory words would stick in my mind for over fifty years.

I can see now after a span of years, that to encourage  others is one of the best gifts that God has given to each one of us. No matter how old or how young we are, we can all say nice things to others, especially those in our own family.

David, in spite of knowing God so well, is a classic example of one who needed encouragement. Jonathan and David were best friends. They had clicked right from the start of their first meeting in Saul’s court . Jonathan liked David very much, with his youthful freshness and good looks that took everyone’s eye. As they talked together that they both felt the other was a special friend. They thought alike and Jonathan loved the way David appreciated God, while David felt he had someone he could trust in the  dangerous court of King Saul.

Even more than Jonathan looking after David’s needs, was his appreciation of  God’s plans for David’s future. He not only knew that God’s plan was for David to be the next king, but he was happy about it and planned that he would be second  in command. When David was on the run for his life, he would meet him as often as he could, and encourage him in the Lord looking to the future when he would work with David as King. They were so sure of this that they made a covenant (promise) together before the Lord promising that they would always keep it.

But the time came when they were separated, to see each other no more, and David was left without the comfort of Jonathan’s encouragement.  Perhaps you are missing friends you once had and now you are separated from  them.  What can you do?  What did David do?

David told  God all about it. Things couldn’t have looked blacker for him. His friend  was gone, his enemies were still after him, and they had taken his wife and family captive and his own men had turned against him.

We have times when we feel like this. We all have enemies of fears, doubts, and other problems, even not feeling well; these enemies  seem about to swamp us at times. David may have wondered where God was in all this mess…..where  were His promises now? However could he get out of all this?

But he took himself to task, and sang these songs….”Why are you so cast down O my soul? Hope in God!”

“Be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart”.

“My heart is fixed O God”, he would say, “I will sing and give You praise in spite of my enemies!”

So we too, can fix our hearts and minds on the Lord and not be afraid of bad things. We can think about Him and count our blessings. Think of all we can be  thankful for in spite of our circumstances and we  will be encouraged with a fresh outlook on things. It is surprising what a difference a thankful spirit makes, and being thankful for the outcome of our prayers BEFORE we see the answer will give the peace of God that passes all understanding.

Stories for Littlies

A Live Birthday Present.

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Lamb 2        When Robin  turned eight years old, he was   given a live birthday present. His father owned a sheep farm and he had promised Robin, ever since he was very small, that someday he would have a lamb of his  very own. Robin’s birthday came in the middle of lambing season and the day he turned eight, twin lambs were born. One of them was given to him for his birthday present.

How happy he was! Probably no lamb had ever been loved so much Robin thought and thought about what name he would give it. Several were suggested, but none seemed to be just what Robin wanted. Finally his mother said, “Why not call the lamb ‘Treasure’ since you like him so much?” When Robin found  out that treasure meant something very precious, he decided that that was a good name, and when he told the Iamb what his name was to be, he added, “And don’t forget to come running when I call, ‘Treasure.”

But, alas, Treasure was not able to do much running. The mother sheep was unable to care for two lambs, and Treasure was the one who went short. His little wobbly legs did not grow stronger, and his bleat was weak and pitiful.

Treasure was some days old when another lamb was found dead beside its mother.

“Well,” said Robin’s father, “here’s a mother that has no lamb, and a lamb whose mother can’t feed it. What do you think we should do, Robin?”

Even an eight-year old could figure out the answer to that question.

“Why not put my lamb with the sheep whose lamb died?” said Robin. So they tried doing this.

But Treasure wasn’t welcome. The mother of the dead lamb refused to take any notice of him. So Robin’s dad tried putting the foster mother and Treasure in a small pen. “We’ll see what a night together will do,” he told Robin.

For hours Robin lay awake listening to the bleating of his hungry lamb. It made him sad to hear his pet calling for its supper. In the morning they found that the mother sheep had jumped out of the pen and deserted the lamb. Robin was angry with her, but his father explained, “It is the law of nature, Son. She knows this lamb doesn’t belong to her. But there’s another way, and we’ll try that.”

Robin’s Dad took the dead lamb, took  the skin off it and put it over Treasure like a jacket. The lamb looked very odd in it. The skin didn’t fit very well, so they tied it on with some twine. Robin only knew his Treasure by its wobbly legs and the weak bleating that went on continuously. He was most excited as his father carried the lamb over to the mother of the dead lamb and put it down beside her.

At first, she turned away as before; then she sniffed cautiously at him, and as she caught the scent of her own lamb, all was changed. She welcomed Treasure and poured out her love on him like any other mother sheep  would  do. From that day on Treasure was looked after very well, and every time Robin went to play with him, he seemed to have grown even bigger.

That’s the story about Treasure, but   Robin thought a lot about the whole thing and  asked his father more about it.

“It’s just like a parable from the Bible”, his father said, “ Remember how I told you that it was a law of nature that kept the mother sheep from wanting Treasure for her lamb?”

Robin DID remember and said that every mother sheep only loved its own lamb.

“Well, it’s like that for us”, his father went on, “Just as it was nature that kept the mother sheep from taking Treasure for her own, so it is sin that keeps us from becoming one of God’s children. We have to be covered in what the Lord Jesus has done for us before we can be accepted by Him”.

Robin had just seen this happening with Treasure so he knew exactly what his father was talking about.

“Yes, I guess so”, he said slowly, “That means that until Treasure was covered with the dead lamb’s skin, it would have had no mother sheep to look after it”.

“That’s right”, said his father, “And each of us has to take the gift , the “covering” that God has given us for ourselves before we can become one of His little lambs too”. 
“Oh, now I understand”, said Robin, “I do want to become one of God’s lambs!”

Grandma's Stories

Very Little.

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We sometimes think that we have very little to offer, or that we don’t amount to much. But just listen to this story….

A little boy was pushing his way through the crowd, wanting to see a miracle. He had heard about this preacher who did miracles, and he badly wanted to see one. But there were so many people crowding around the teacher listening to what He was saying, and the sick people were pushing forwards so that they could be touched by Him.  The hours passed by.

 It had been a long hot day and  the people were starting to get hungry and tired. The little boy wondered what was going to happen next. He was getting hungry himself, but he had been so busy listening to and watching everything that was happening he had almost forgotten the five small buns and two little fish he had in his bag.

 Then he heard the Master say to His friends, “How do you think we should feed all these people?”

 They didn’t seem to have a clue. “Perhaps we should send them away to get something to eat”, one of them suggested.

 Our little boy nudged Andrew, one of the friends, and said, “Look, the Master can have these little buns and fish to feed the people” as he gave them to him. Andrew was almost ashamed to show Jesus what he had. “Well, we’ve got these five buns and two small fish, but how will they feed such a crowd?” he asked as he gave them to Him.

Jesus didn’t hesitate as He took them. He gave thanks to God for them as though it was some great banquet He had in front of Him, and then started to break the buns and fish apart. They just kept going. More and more! He handed the pieces out to His friends and told them to distribute them to the people who were now sitting down on the grass. It was an incredible sight, a giant picnic. Not only was there enough food for everyone, but there were twelve baskets of left-overs too!!

    Our little boy had wanted to see a miracle, and now he had not only seen one of the greatest miracles of all time, but he was part of it too!  He hadn’t done the miracle, but the Master had, with what he had given Him. If he hadn’t parted with his five buns and two little fish, he would not have been part of it.

 It’s the same for us today. If we don’t hand over to God the little that we have, we won’t see any miracles done, let alone be part of them. How much of the small talent that we have,  do we give to Him for His glory? God uses the little things to accomplish what He intends to do all along.

 Goliath was a large giant of a man, yet he was killed by a teenage boy with a slingshot. Gideon took a walled city at God’s command with just three hundred men armed with…lamps and trumpets!                                                                                                                                     When God sent His Son into the world, he didn’t use a mature older woman to care for this precious baby. He chose an unknown teenager who loved Him (God) with all her heart and who was prepared to give up her reputation, and maybe even her future husband who she was engaged to. 

   It’s not our talent that counts in serving God, it’s what God does with what we give back to  Him. He takes the little that we have and makes something big of that. We must learn to quit holding on to our lunch thinking it is too small to be of any value!!

PS….You can read these accounts in the Bible to get the full story……Matthew 14:14-21;  Mark 6:34-44;  Luke 9:11-17;  John 6:1-14

 

 

Seasons of Life…      BS4Y  

Have you ever thought of life in this way? We went to a funeral the other day, and it struck me again of the brevity of life when you have come to the end of it. When we are younger, the years stretch ahead endlessly (we think) and there always seems plenty of time to do the things we want to, or the things we know we ought to do.

“Tomorrow” we tell ourselves, “We’ll do it (or think about it) tomorrow”.

But you know, tomorrow never comes. A wise king in the Bible called Solomon thought about these things and this is what he had to say about life…..”To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:  A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…” He wrote more on these lines in  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8…

His father, King David wrote these words….”As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourishes; For the wind passes over it, and it is gone; and its place shall know it no more.”

It sparked these thoughts…

Spring….         ages birth – thirty….       Seeds sown

This is the time of life that we lay our foundations….of education, relationships and careers. We learn more in these years than at any other time of life.

Summer ..        ages 30-50…                Weeds grown

These are the busy years…we are so busy raising a family, buying a home and getting established, that we allow the weeds of busyness to stifle any thoughts we might have towards God and the spiritual side of life.

Autumn…        ages 50-70…                Deeds  reaping time

It’s now the time of reaping what we’ve been sowing during the previous years. The habits we’ve formed, either bad or good; our families have grown and gone, and now we have time for the hobbies we’ve always promised ourselves to take up; we still have the energy to travel and see other parts of the world. Our habits take over and we are so busy having a good time that again we put thoughts of the future out of our minds.

Winter…          ages  70-?                    Needs…time’s flown!

Our grandchildren have grown and are now having problems which we can’t help taking on our own shoulders as we watch them flounder along making the same mistakes that we once made. Now we are brought up with a round turn by health problems, and we find that we have new needs. We have to downsize; things we once did with ease, now take all day. Then when we come to the next big-0 birthday, we realise that there is very little time left, and maybe no quality time at that. Our minds are not as clear as they used to be, and it is an effort to think of the future and spiritual things. “Well,” we say, “We’ve lived without God all these years, so we can die without Him too!”

This is the biggest mistake we can ever make. We should take time right NOW to think about the future and get ready to meet our Maker. Remember the trips we used to take and the preparations we made for them? The research we put into where to go and where to stay?  Our final trip is the greatest trip we will ever make….let’s make sure we are ready to go!

 

Peace of Mind   Blg

As a wise man was once walking from one town to another with a friend, they passed a small lake.. They stopped there and the wise man said, “I’m thirsty, please  get me some water from that lake there”.

The friend walked to the lake, but  noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, then a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy and dirty. The friend thought, “How can I give this muddy water to my friend to drink!” So he came back and told him that the water  was too muddy and not fit to drink.

A little later,  the wise man asked his friend to go back to the lake again and get him some water to drink. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above was fit to drink, so he collected some and brought it to the wise man.

The wise man looked at the water, and said, “See what you did to make the water clean? You let it be … and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water!”

Our minds are like this too. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.

What did the wise man say? He said that it was effortless. Having ‘peace of mind’ is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. To have the peace OF God, we must have peace WITH God. This makes all the difference. Then the peace OF God will spread around you and in this environment, other people around will start feeling that peace and grace.

 

     I was visiting a friend in a rest home recently, and she said that different ones had asked her how she could bear to be cooped up in her bedroom day by day. She said it was all in her attitude. For her, she had no choice.

    But she DID have a choice whether she was going to accept it gracefully with a smile or resentfully with a bad attitude. Her prayer is that her room will be noticed by the staff as a room of peace and joy, and already some have mentioned that they notice this. She regards these confining conditions as another mission field for her…one which able-bodied older people do not have in the same way.

    What a lesson to us all! If we take all our situations to the Lord and thank Him for the answer BEFORE we get it, His peace will envelop us and will be seen by those around us!   (Philippians 4:6-7)

 

What Sort of Legacy are we Leaving?   Blg

I’ve been to a few funerals lately, and there’s nothing sadder than standing around an open grave and hearing some of the family of the deceased talking about the life of their dearly departed. Whether we like it or not, this is going to happen to each one of us sooner or later. What will our family be able to say about us? Will they know without a doubt that the real “us” is in the presence of God? Or will they just vaguely hope we are there?

It’s not enough to like a certain hymn or to have given our spouse an inspirational book once (both examples of which I have heard given). Let’s make sure that our family KNOW without a doubt that our faith is in God and His Son Jesus Christ. This is the best legacy we can leave them.